The use of identification cards (herein ID cards) are now commonplace in many companies, colleges, government agencies and other similar organized groups. The purpose of identification cards is to provide verification as to a person's authority to enter a particular area or to perform certain restricted activities. Most ID cards are formed using photographic technologies, wherein a photograph of a person is attached to a distinctive substrate and sealed between two transparent laminates. For an example of such laminated photograph type of ID cards, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,946 to Clay and Canadian Patent No. 981,303 to Mattes. Unfortunately, with the advent of color copying technologies, such photo ID cards are becoming increasingly easy to forge or alter. Consequently, ID cards are loosing their effectiveness in deterring unauthorized activities.
In an effort to make ID cards more difficult to forge, ID cards have become more technically sophisticated. For example, ID cards often include codeable magnetic strips or bar code data that can be read by a scanning device. Such technical devices do help to prevent reproduction, but they do not prevent impostors from using stolen or found cards and it does not stop dishonest people from giving their ID cards to other unauthorized individuals. Despite advances in technology, the most effective manner to ensure that a particular ID card belongs to a specific individual is to have an easily identifiable portrait of the individual on the ID card. With a picture clearly visible on an ID card, the authorization of a person can be quickly verified by a simple glance. However, an ID card, even with magnetic strips or bar code data, is only effective if the picture on the ID card cannot be easily replaced or altered. Otherwise valid ID cards can be misappropriated, substitute pictures can be put in place of the original picture and unauthorized persons have defeated the ID card security system.
In view of this problem, over the years many different types of ID cards have been invented that were intended to prevent the unauthorized reproduction or altering of the ID cards. Some ID cards are produced with sophisticated laminate layers, thereby creating visual effects that cannot be readily copied or altered. Such ID cards are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,662,518 to Borror and 5,011,570 to Ohbayashi. These prior art ID cards may also include infrared transparent layers to further deter forged cards. Unfortunately, such prior art ID cards are complicated to manufacture and therefore are expensive as compared to other available ID cards.
Another approach to creating ID cards that are difficult to forge is by substituting a photographic image of a person with a digitized computer image. Such computer based systems are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,921,278 to Shiang et al, 4,222,622 to Krugle, 4,175,775 to Krugle and European Patent Nos. 084,064A1 to Wallerstorfer and 372,837A2 to Miller. In this prior art, the computer created image can be manipulated in manners that make the image difficult to reproduce. However, the images are usually still produced on paper by a printer and the paper substrate is sealed within transparent laminates. As such, the ID card is still very vulnerable to forgery or tampering.
Yet another approach to preventing the forgery or tampering of an ID card is to mark the plastic material from which the surface of the ID card is made. Such prior art is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,409 to Holbein et al., wherein an plastic identification card is written on by means of a laser. In such an ID card a paper-backed photographic image is sealed within two plastic laminates that cannot be nondestructively removed. Therefore by marking the laminates with a laser, the originality of the ID card is confirmed. However, the use of such ID cards assumes that an unauthorized person cannot recreate the identifying markings formed into the plastic laminates. Since plastic is easily worked, the reproduction of any mark does not present a formidable deterrent.
In view of the problems inherent in the prior art, it is a primary objective of the present invention to create a picture ID card wherein the picture and other identifying indicia are not produced on a paper substrate, but rather are produced directly onto a transparent plastic substrate. The plastic substrate, on which is printed the picture, is then heat bonded to another plastic substrate thereby sealing the picture and other identifying indicia between the bonded plastic substrate layers. The picture and other identifying indicia therefore cannot be accessed because they are not independently formed and any attempt to alter the picture or the corresponding identifying indicia would destroy the integrity of the entire ID card.